August 25, 2011

Nada Alwadi visits the offices of The Nation to discuss her experiences as a reporter in Bahrain.

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Since the uprisings in Bahrain began this spring, the government and its media outlets have painted the protesters as violent thugs. But in this Nation Conversation, Nada Alwadi, a journalist from Bahrain, describes the ways reporters were blocked from providing the world with an accurate portrayal of the protests. "Journalists were there during everything," she said. The government "tried so hard to eliminate their chances to talk about it. [The journalists] were either fired from their jobs (I was fired) or they left."

Alwadi, who recently relocated to Washington, DC, was detained by authorities in Bahrain in April while reporting on the protest movement and was forced to sign a statement saying that she wouldn’t write on or engage in political activities. "It’s a media blackout," she said. "Somehow there is only one voice, one side of the story. That is what the authorities want." Alwadi has since founded the Bahrain Press Association to counter the government’s efforts to shut down media dissent.